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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 124 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  4. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. Did you ________________ the button?
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  14. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. trunk — of an elephant
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. jam — a tight spot
  4. straw — dry grass
  5. stem — to come from
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. press — to push
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. trunk — of a tree
  14. perch — the fish
  15. press — a publisher
  16. jam — in traffic
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. stem — of a plant
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. bat — the animal
  22. perch — for a bird
  23. press — newspapers
  24. toast — bread

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com